On April 8, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Micro-Short Drama Ecosystem Co-creation Gathering and the unveiling ceremony of the Guangzhou Micro-Short Drama Service Center were held at the Gongmei Port International Digital Innovation Center in Haizhu District, Guangzhou. In recent years, Guangdong has actively built a three-tier policy linkage system at the provincial, municipal, and district levels, issuing policy documents such as the "Several Measures to Promote High-Quality Development of Guangdong's Online Audiovisual Industry," the "Implementation Measures for Promoting the Creation and Production of Television and Online Dramas in Guangzhou," and the "Guangzhou 2026 'AI Empowerment · High-Quality Micro-Short Drama' Creation Theme Plan." These initiatives aim to comprehensively upgrade the online audiovisual industry, represented by micro-short dramas, towards higher quality, standardization, and intelligence, continuously unleashing the vitality of new digital cultural formats. In 2025, Guangzhou's revenue from the cultural industry above designated size reached nearly 670 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.1%. Within this, digital culture and online audiovisual revenue amounted to 335 billion yuan, up 16.1% year-on-year. Micro-short dramas have become an important new engine for activating cultural consumption, telling Guangzhou's stories, and showcasing the city's charm.
Wang Xiao, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the Guangdong Provincial Radio and Television Bureau, stated that in recent years, Guangdong has consistently led the development of the micro-short drama industry nationwide, establishing a full-chain development ecosystem. This has led to the emergence of a number of phenomenal high-quality works and the cultivation of market entities with national influence. The province is home to over 18,000 related enterprises and more than 3,000 broadcasting service platforms, boasting the most complete industrial chain. In 2025, planned and approved key and ordinary micro-short dramas in Guangdong accounted for about one-sixth of the national total. The number of distribution licenses increased by 27% year-on-year, and the number of filed and broadcast dramas ranked among the top three in China. Among the top 20 overseas micro-short drama apps by revenue, eight are from Guangdong. Guangdong has the foundation, conditions, and responsibility to be the "pacesetter" for the high-quality development of micro-short dramas.
Li Ruolan, Chief Engineer of the Guangzhou Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau, explained that the establishment of the Guangzhou Micro-Short Drama Service Center marks the industry's entry into a new phase of "full-chain services and high-quality development." Moving forward, Guangzhou will develop the service center into a booster for industrial growth, continuously optimizing service processes, strengthening copyright protection, and improving factor support. It will cultivate AI technology as the greatest increment for content innovation, driving the transformation of micro-short drama production from labor-intensive to technology-intensive. Furthermore, leveraging Guangzhou's strengths in openness, the city will position the Greater Bay Area co-creation initiative as a "gateway" for cultural dissemination, promoting the deep integration of micro-short dramas with cultural tourism, branding, and commerce to facilitate the global expansion of Guangzhou's products and culture.
At the event, promotional videos for policies at the provincial, municipal, and district levels were showcased, fully illustrating the policy support system from top-level design to implementation. Leaders from the Guangdong Provincial Radio and Television Bureau, the Guangzhou Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau, and the Haizhu District government outlined requirements for the functional positioning and development goals of the Guangzhou Micro-Short Drama Service Center and the Greater Bay Area (Haizhu) Digital Entertainment (Online Audiovisual) Industry Service Center. They emphasized the need to deepen government-enterprise collaboration, optimize the industrial ecosystem, ensure rapid and direct access to policy benefits, and guide the micro-short drama industry towards high-quality development characterized by excellence, standardization, and intelligence. Representatives from AI short drama companies shared insights on technology applications and industry trends, expressing strong expectations for resource sharing and win-win cooperation through the "dual centers." The head of Gongmei Port introduced the construction progress of the "AI + Entertainment (Micro-Short Drama) OPC Ecological Community."
Witnessed by attending leaders and guests, the Guangzhou Micro-Short Drama Service Center and the Greater Bay Area (Haizhu) Digital Entertainment (Online Audiovisual) Industry Service Center were officially unveiled, marking a new stage of full-chain services and high-quality development for Guangzhou's micro-short drama industry. Following the unveiling, participants visited the service center and the "AI + Entertainment (Micro-Short Drama) OPC Ecological Community" for an immersive experience of AI technology empowering the creation and production of micro-short dramas. Subsequently, a thematic symposium on the 2026 "AI Empowerment · High-Quality Micro-Short Drama" creation plan was held, where government and enterprise representatives engaged in in-depth discussions on enhancing content quality through AI technology and cultivating new qualitative cultural productive forces, jointly exploring pathways for industrial upgrading.
As a key area for Guangzhou's layout in the micro-short drama and digital entertainment industries, Haizhu District is focused on building a new highland for the micro-short drama industry. It has introduced policies to promote the high-quality development of the digital entertainment industry and support the creation of high-quality online content, establishing a "3+1" policy support system. The district launched the Pazhou Ten Thousand AI Short Drama Co-creation Plan, introduced the Vobile Group digital content copyright service platform, formed the "Greater Bay Area Micro-Short Drama Industry Alliance," and accelerated the construction of the "Smart Audiovisual" (Pazhou) Cloud Industrial Park. Through a combination of measures including co-creation, copyright protection, alliance collaboration, and platform building, Haizhu is vigorously constructing a new industrial development pattern. In March of this year, the city and district jointly implemented the "Guangdong Province Action Plan to Support the Innovative Development of AI OPC," supporting Gongmei Port in creating the "AI + Entertainment (Micro-Short Drama) OPC Ecological Community." This initiative provides a low-cost, high-efficiency incubation space for micro-short dramas, effectively reducing costs and increasing efficiency for enterprises, and offering robust support for the development of the city's online audiovisual industry.
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